Black Rose

Author: Moe-shi

Summary: After leaving an abusive relationship, Sakura finds solace in Naruto's arms. AU. NaruSaku Warning: Violence

Rated: T

Reviews for the last chapter:

hideki411: I'm not really too sure how you sent in two reviews for the same chapter O.O, but you did anyway. They were virtually the same ('cept for the last couple of words), so I'll just answer them together. Thanks so much! I'm updating now! :) ... also, haha, just read on and find out what happens.

charles cdv: Thanks! :) I'll do my best!

kekisan21: Thanks so much! I'm updating now! :P

Nutt Man 117: Haha thanks, I do my best! ;)

G: Thanks! I'm updating now, hope you enjoy it.

Muerte-chan: Hah, I wasn't aware I was quoting anyone O.o. But thanks for reviewing!

Darious Frost: Yay! I'm happy I can make you have a vision, :P. Don't worry, Sakura will step up soon enough!

Lazy Gaga: Thanks for the review! I hope you like the new chapter!

ILASMIC: Thanks so much! I'm updating now~

damnn: Thanks, that means a lot to me! I hope you like this chapter! ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto... or... well, anything. /cry


Chapter 4

When Sakura finally opened her eyes, the only thing that she could register was the soft beeping in the background, and the familiar smell of anaesthetic. It only took her mind a minute to realize that she was in a hospital, and a soft smile came to her face. Hospitals were normal, and normal was good.

But... how did she get to somewhere so... safe?

The last thing she could remember she was getting home to Naru- oh yeah, Sasuke was there. The memories slowly filed back into her mind, sorting themselves out inside her head until she remembered the whole event, minus some little fuzzy spots.

At least up until I blacked out.

But if she was in a hospital, than where was-

"S-Sakura?" a quiet voice croaked from the chair beside her, startling her slightly. She hadn't realized anyone was there, "You-you're awake?"

The pinkette slowly moved her head towards the talking person, her head aching a bit. When she finally met the blue eyes of the speaker, she was shocked.

The woman in front of her was ragged, dirty, and just plain... unhealthy looking. A mere shadow of the woman that she used to be. Her once radiant blonde hair was greasy and kept in a messy ponytail that was hardly succeeding keeping it away from her now dull blue eyes.

"I-Ino?" she stuttered, a slightly curious and a little scared as to why the blonde was here. Didn't she... hate her?

Ino looked down at her small hands, trying to keep Sakura from seeing the tears that were filling her large eyes, although she failed miserably. Sakura pushed herself up slightly, before bringing one of her hands to rest on top of the other woman's.

"It's okay..." she mumbled softly, a bit unsure of what to do, as she ran her small fingers back and forth over the girl's hand.

The blonde looked up quickly, surprising Sakura, tears still fresh in her eyes. A look of determination took over. "No, it isn't," she told her, using the familiar, 'I'm right' tone of voice, "Maybe-maybe if I hadn't abandoned you back then, you wouldn't have been this badly hurt."

Sakura sighed inwardly, realizing that she was going to get a similar story from most of her friends. They all felt guilt for something that was her own fault. "Don't be sorry." she smiled at Ino, "I deserved it, and besides, I was hardly hurt."

A tear slipped out of other girl's eye, as she stared at the pink haired woman incredulously, "Sakura, you were out for two weeks. You were in a coma."

The words hit her like a ton. A coma? For two whole weeks? She felt herself go into slight panic mode, inwardly wishing she was allowed to do tests on herself. What if she had brain damage? "I was?"

It explained Ino's dirty appearance.

"Yeah." she looked at the wall, "I was a little hurt too, but I guess somebody called the cops, and Sasuke couldn't hurt me too bad."

Sakura looked at the girl excitedly, "Did they catch him?"

Ino sighed, "No... what happened was..."

Flashback (Ino)

"Sakura!" Ino scrambled out of the elevator as the pinkette crumbled to the floor, racing as fast as she could through the hallway. She swore one of her heels were going to break. "What did you do to her Sasuke?"

He ignored her question as she stopped a couple of metres in front of him, her breath coming out a bit quicker than normal as she attempted to glare at him. He only smirked in return, "Well, if it isn't Ino. I haven't seen you in forever."

"Thank goodness." she mumbled under her breath, her glare intensifying as she looked at Sakura out of the corner of her eye. She looked like she was still breathing, which was good, but Ino also knew that she wouldn't last much longer. She needed some help.

If she weren't so close to the Uchiha right now, she would have flipped open her cell phone and called the police, but she knew of the dire consequences. When she had dated him, he had been a little more toned down than he was now – after all, they'd dated back in high school for a while, and his asshole-ish behaviour was only just starting then. She had been lucky, especially that another girl had caught his eye. She shuddered when she remembered what happened to that girl.

How else could she get the police to come? She wondered to herself, trying to stay composed. A little voice in the back of her mind whispered, 'Be loud', and she realized that if she screamed enough someone would call the police, even if it was only because she was being a disturbance.

So she screamed.

And boy did she scream loud... far louder than she had ever screamed before. Her head felt a little light-headed as she raised her volume. Just as she was about to add another help, she felt a hand slap her across the face, "Shut up woman, do you want the police to come?"

She mimicked his smirk, "Yes, I do."

Seconds later, she felt herself being thrust against a wall, a hand around her neck as he attempted to strangle her. She struggled, letting out strangled sounds, until she finally managed to kick him in the leg, loosening his grip long enough for her to move a bit out of his reach.

Screaming again, although her voice was a bit more scratchy this time, she attempted to stay an arm's length away from him. Eventually though, he had her in his grasp again, this time with a cloth (inwardly, she noticed it was ripped from Sakura's dress, the sick bastard) tied around her mouth. She still tried to struggle, but as he punched her in the stomach, she realized she couldn't anymore.

She had done all she could, now all she had to do was stay awake long enough for the police to get here.

But the question was: How long would that be?

Sasuke carelessly dropped her with a loud thump on the ground, obviously thinking that he was finished with her. He turned away from her confidently, about to walk back to his first victim as she glared after him, wincing slightly as she reached a small hand up to wipe the blood out of the corner of her mouth. She stood again, her knees more shaky this time.

She called after him as he picked up one of Sakura's limp arms, turning towards her in surprise. He smirked maliciously and tossing the pinkette aside like a rag doll. She couldn't help but think of how much of a monster he was.

Ino took a couple of shaky steps forward, until they were right in front of each other, staring at each other heatedly.

"Yamanka," his voice was cold, "do you really want to do this?"

He made it sound like it didn't make any sense to protect Sakura! She didn't care if they'd had a falling out... Sakura was still her best friend. Nothing could ever change that, no matter what she'd said.

"I've never wanted to do something so much in my life," and with that, she spat in his face.

She realized that may of been a bad idea.

His face flew through ten different emotions, eventually resting on a look that she knew, although, granted, she had never seen it before. It was the famed, 'Uchiha Death Glare'. If looks could kill...

Damn.

"You-you bitch!" he brought a large hand up and backhanded her, making her fall in a heap on the floor. He stood over her murderously. Just as he was about to kick her head in, the sound of sirens filled the air.

He looked both ways, as if debating what to do, before he finally lowered his foot."I'm coming for you later, Yamanka." he sent her the, 'Glare' again, before swiftly moving in the opposite direction, down a hallway she didn't even know was there.

"Thank god."

End Flashback (Ino)

"You did all that... for me?" Sakura asked quietly, her emerald green eyes widening as the blonde nodded, "Did you... did you mean what you said when you were telling your story?"

Ino glanced up from the hem of her shirt she'd been fiddling with, "That you're my best friend? Of course..." she smiled softly at the bewildered girl, "I don't care if we argued, or that we haven't talked in ages. All that matters is here and now, and know that I'll never hate you, no matter what I say."

"You mean that?" tears began to fill her own orbs, tightening her grip on the other girls hand, "I'd been so scared... I thought that I lost you. I'm so glad that we're friends again."

"We never stopped." they smiled at each other for a moment, as a doctor walked into the room, her heels clicking against the tile of the floor.

"Sakura, you're awake!" the woman shrieked, running forward as both girls furiously rubbed the tears out of their eyes. The large busted woman hugged Sakura tightly.

"Tsunade-shishou?" Sakura managed to get out, hugging her back as she attempted to stop the IV cord from getting tangled around the doctor.

"The one an only!" she grinned at her ex-apprentice, beginning her checkup. After a couple of minutes of writing things down on a clipboard, she met the curious green eyes of the woman again, "You're all good. Of course, you'll need to stay for a couple more days, but nothing major."

"Really?" her eyes lit up considerably, and she smiled up at her mentor. "I thought I'd have to stay much longer."

"Well..." Tsunade smirked at the young girl, "you can leave a bit earlier than normal on one condition."

"Damn it..." Sakura mumbled under her breath, "there is a catch."

"Of course there's a catch. You have to start working at the hospital again. I don't believe that your 'mother' is still sick."

Sakura blushed at the lie she had come up with earlier, as she hid her red face in her arms. But she couldn't have returned to her job these last couple of weeks... Sasuke had been getting so protective that she couldn't leave the house. Not to mention, her wounds had been very visible at this point. "I guess I could come back. But I don't think I can handle full time just yet."

"I wouldn't have let you work full time." Tsunade laughed, glancing down at her clipboard once more, "I'd love to visit longer, but it's a full house. I'll check on you in an hour or two."

"Thank you!" Sakura called after her as she exited the room. She turned towards Ino, a smile still on her face, "You go home. You really need to clean yourself up. I'm sure someone can come take care of me."

"Are you sure? I mean, I really don't mind-"

"Go, go," Sakura waved Ino out of the room, a sly smile appearing on her face, "Naruto can come and stay with me anyway."

Ino paused at the door, her body freezing. Her face paled as she spoke her next words, "You mean..." she stopped for a moment, as if debating her next words, "you don't remember?"

"Remember what?" she asked curiously, although she could feel herself begin to tense up inwardly. She tried to reassure herself that it was nothing, but she knew it was. She figured whatever had happened to him was one of her, 'fuzzy spots'. She hoped to god he was alright.

"Naruto... Naruto has been missing since the, uh... the accident. The police haven't been able to find him, but they believe that Sasuke and his gang of thugs took him."

"H-he's gone?" she felt tears began to swim around her beautiful green eyes, "But... but I need him!"

"I know..." Ino looked away, fresh tears filling her own eyes, "we all do."

"Ino, what am I going to do?" she asked, pulling on her pink locks in aggravation. Naruto was her everything, and without him... oh god.

She hesitated, glancing at the pink haired girl with pity, "Wait, I guess. There isn't much we can do."

"I can't just sit around and wait!" Sakura shouted, feeling herself become riled up. "I'm going to find him, and I'm going to bring him home!"

"Sakura... you're hurt."

"I'll get better." she said stubbornly, glaring pointedly at the fresh cast on one of her arms. "It might take a while, but I will get him."

"But what if..." Ino trailed off, not wanting to say her next words.

"There is no, 'what if'." Sakura said decidedly, "Sasuke won't kill him for a while. He would have put Naruto in some sort of confined area, making him weak enough so that if he eventually does kill him, it'll be that much easier. He'll definitely keep him for a couple more weeks. He wants to see me suffer."

Ino nodded, "It's almost scary how much you know Sasuke, even though you guys weren't that close."

"Ino," Sakura paused, meeting the eyes' of her friend, "we were close at one time. Before he got violent. I loved him, Ino." she looked down at her hands, "I still do."

"Sakura! How could you love someone that did that to you?"

"I don't know, okay! Don't yell at me. I can't help it. I was with him for so long..." she smiled wistfully, "I'm not in love with him anymore. But I do love him, and you can't expect that to change overnight. I'm in love with Naruto now... I just-I just wish I'd gotten to tell him that."

"He already knows."

Sakura looked up in surprise. "What?"

"He's always known that you love him, Sakura. We all have. We've just been waiting for you to wake up and realize your feelings."

"But how-"

"You're the most open person I know. When you feel something, everyone knows it, even if you don't."

Sakura looked unconvinced, "But Naruto's so... so clueless..."

"Sakura, he's aware of everything you do. I may be your best girlfriend, but Naruto... he's your best friend."

Sakura blushed slightly, "That's so embarrassing. Why didn't you tell me I was being so obvious?"

"Because you didn't even know what you were being obvious about!" Ino laughed, waving to Sakura, "But I think I'm going to take up your offer. I'll see you later, Forehead."

"Bye, Pig!" Sakura laughed, waving back with her able hand.

Silence.

She squirmed slightly in her hospital bed, wishing that she had enough energy to get up and move around. "I've got to be doing things..." she mumbled, pressing a clicker that raised the back of her bed.

Naruto's face came to her mind.

I wonder what you're doing right now...

She sighed, glancing out the open window. It was evening again, and she knew that soon enough she would fall asleep, welcoming another day. Inwardly, she realized that meant a day closer to finding the beautiful blond boy.

A look of determination took over her eyes, "I swear on my life." she brought a hand to her heart, "I'll find you, and I will bring you home."

End Chapter 4


CHAPTER 4 COMPLETED! I'm so happy that I have a... successful chapter story haha. Anyway, I hope that everyone really liked this chapter, I put a lot of work into it. And I know, the mysterious person in the hall wasn't Naruto... I hope nobody was to disappointed. I just had to have Ino as the person, because it's really important that she makes up with the people closest to her! Also, everyone has been saying, "Sakura needs to step up!", but don't worry, it's coming. Part of the reason why she hasn't really defended herself, is because Sakura is one of those people that puts everyone before herself, so to her... fighting back didn't seem worth it. It was just her that was going to suffer. However, now that Naruto's in trouble, she'll do everything she can to make him safe again! Again, I hope you enjoyed!

Please read and review everybody, it would be very much appreciated!

Thanks for reading!

Yours truly,

Moe-shi